George m



@twitch listes, Entrant @fitte Laim Patent No. 77,237,- daafz per 28,1868.

.Iiirnovso APPARATUS roe saisine sunken Vessem.

itin diter rtfttttt tn in time ttttets 'ndert mit mating tutti tigttime.

To ALL WHOM IT MAY coNoERN: v n Be it known that I',`Gno1tenM.-ALLERTQN, of the city and State of New York, have invented and made acertain new and useful '.Improvement in Apparatusfor Raising orSustaining Vessels; and I do herebydeelare the following to beafullpelcar, and exact description ofthe saidinvention, reference beinghad to the annexed drawing, making part of this specification,wherein-F- I V Figure 1 is a cross-section`of avesselw'rth myA improvedapparatus applied thereto.

Figure 2 is aside 4view of a portion offa vesselandsaid apparatus.ASimilar marks ot' reference denote the same parts. v

Heretofcre it has been usual to attach ltloatsto the sides of vessels bymeans of ropes and chains passed beneath said vessel oraroundl the ends;In manysituat'ions it is dilicultwand almost impossible to connect the{ioats by these means, in consequence'of thevessel being embedded in mudor sand, or resting upon a stony bottom. Besides thisa the ehape'of thefloats hasnsu'all-y been such that they werenotadaptedto any--othercharacter of fastenings',' being generally ot' ii conical or spheroidalform.

These oatshave'usually been made with a netting of ropes, concentratingat one or 'two points, and under strain itis often found that'these'ropes break, and the inflated bag, being unsupported, bursts i'romthepress-l ure. Such-bagssometimes: also burst in consequence of the bagsuddenly vcoming up to or near .the surface of the water, where `thepressure of the water being less, allows the contained air to expandwith greater force than the bag can sustain.

The nature ofiny said invention consists in a iloat formed of anair-tight bag, within 'a casing of woven.

orsirnilar material, formed 'seas to be spiked upon theside of thevessel by a suiiicient number-vof spikes pass'- -ing throughvthe saidcasing. I I provide a sufficient number of these loats, placed along thesides'of the vessel,

upd as far down as possible, and said floats, may be a little distanceapart, or theyemay be lapped or placed in several rows or banks,according to' the buoyantpowcr required. AI supply each of these-bagswith airfrom a main pipe, and provide .an escape-'pipo at the bottom, sothat the air may freely pass away itfthe pressure becomes too great.

. 'In the drawing, a-re'presentsa portion of a vessel or other articleto b erais'ed. b'b are the air-bags, made of an oblong form, with thesupply-tube c at the upper end, and each provided with a cock or valve,e', and connected tothe main air-tube d, that passes up to the air-pump.The cock or valve d is used to allowar to Aescape,ii` required. v u

Each air-bag has a tube, e, passing away from its lower end,'to allow ofthe escape of air when the bag' is illed, and the pressure becomes toogreat. This tube maybeof any desired length, so that the end remainsopen to the water at the lowest and most deuseiportion thereof, or saidpipe maybe provided.with a-saietyi valve ,or other appliance, to retainthe air to a given pressure. -Thisvalve acts as a weight, to keep 'thelower cnd of the tube down, and a cord may be attached to draw up thetube'and valve, when required.

fis a casing, into which each air-bag is introduced. Separate easingsmay be made for each bag, or said easings may bc'adapted to receive twoor more of said bags..

Each easing is adapted to form a complete enclosure for the air-bag, inorder that' it may be fully sus; tained, and the material of which saidvair-bag is formed relieved of as much strain as possible. By this con-Astruction the air-bag may be of thin India'rubber, sufficient to be airand water-tight,- the'strengthbeing derived from the casing.

The casing is to be made of a woven or netted fabric, or netting oi' acharacter adapted to the strength required, and provided with gromets oreyelets all around the edges, so :that spikes or bolts can be introducedas frequently as necessary for attaching said easing firmly to thearticle to' be raised.

The number of spikes, and the extent of surface into which they hold,preventfinjury by undue' strain at one point, as is often the case wherechains are employed, and the eyelets allow theilo'ats to be lacedtogether when most convenient.

The lloats can be attached well de wn'under the vossels counter, so asto tctuelly*act beneath, and henceI strain the fasteninge but little.

Floats attached in this manner are not liable to break loose from thevessel, and are not in the way in towing the vessel after it has beenrised, I

By connecting all the air-bagson one'side of the vessel to the mainpipedl the multitude of lexible tubes usually employed to lead from thepump to eachbag is avoided, and all-the floats on one side ofth'e'vessel can be first charged to righther, und then the oats on 'theother 'side bc charged, or the two ranges of floats may be chargedsimultaneously.

What I claim, und desire to secure by Letters Patent, isf- 1. A. seriesof cesings, provided with eyes around their edges, to 'De secured to thevessel by spikes, in in combinetionwith separate air-bags introducedWithin said oasings, 'and capable of inilation7 as land for thepurposesspecified. l

4 2. An escape-air tube, extending below the air-bag, substantially asond for the purposes set forth.

V 3. A series of air-bags, connected to the supply-pipe d by the tubesc, in combination with cocks c d', as and for the purposes set forth.4

In witness whereof, I' have hereunto set my signature, this'twelfth deyof February, 1868.

' GEO, M'. ALLERTON.

Witnesses:

Cms. H. SMITH, Geo; D. WALKER.

